Here is the PROPER CHAPTER! Thank you to everyone who pointed out that it was very mucked up becasue i never would have noticed! Sorry about the rambly bit, its random notes just forget you read it please!
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Chapter 30
Lily woke the next morning to find that everyone had already gone down to breakfast. The Marauders were all sitting together; Evidently Sirius's rant at James had been forgiven if not forgotten. James went to kiss her but she dodged out of the way to sit next to Mia showing that she wasn't prepared to do either.
"Lily, McGonagall coming to get us some time tonight," James said, looking a bit bewildered.
"Remus can you pass me the butter please?" Lily asked. As the butter was directly in front of James, and Remus was sitting two seats down he had to stretch looking just as confused.
"Thank you," she said politely. In fact she spent the rest of the day being very polite and charming to everyone. Except James.
After dinner, James disappeared. She went to dinner with Sirius and Mia, saying goodnight to them at her rooms, expecting them to be empty.
"What are you doing here?"
"So you're talking to me again?" James scowled.
"Has McGonagall come yet?" she asked ignoring the expression on his face.
"No. Went to see her after dinner and it's all taken care of,"
"Really? How?" She asked amazed.
"I thought you weren't talking to me," he said coolly.
"But-"
"You've been working so hard all day it would be a shame to spoil it now,"
"James!"
"Goodnight," he smiled, grabbed his books and headed up to his room.
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He couldn't sleep. Just seeing the expression on her face when he walked off was enough to kill any tiredness. He wanted to go and see her but he wasn't sure about the rules in the Heads rooms. He'd never been in her room. She'd always go to his. Whether the Head Girls dorm had the same rules as the usual girls dormitories, he didn't know. But he wasn't willing to risk it. Calling up the stairs hadn't worked he'd either have to wait until morning or go up there.
He couldn't wait; he wouldn't get a wink of sleep all night if he did.
He couldn't go up there because he'd set off all kinds of sirens and alarms and god-knows-whats.
Unless..........HE couldn't go up there......but maybe...........
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Lily was having the weirdest dream. First she was wandering around Hogwarts, but there was no one else there. Then James appeared, scowling and whispering her name and after a while some kind of animal appeared beside him snuffling and sniffing beside her. As she woke the image of Hogwarts and James gradually faded. But the animal didn't, it was still there staring at her and nudging her hand with its nose.
Even in her sleep-muddled state she recognised it. But then how many stags did she know?
"Prongs? James what do you want?"
He looked at her and trotted down the stairs. Occasionally pausing to check that she was following.
"To say sorry," he said as he changed back.
"For what?"
"For being just as stubborn as you,"
"Oh thanks! Is that what you dragged me up to tell me?"
"Pretty much," he replied feeling slightly foolish. "You still want to know how we got out of it?"
"Of course,"
"Naturally they didn't find anything, so I said that she must have used a fake name and they have no chance of finding her,"
"That's it?!" Lily asked amazed.
"That's it," he said calmly. "Dumbledore knows there something we're not telling him but he's not going to say anything. I think he persuaded McGonagall that it was pointless to look into it anymore,"
"You've got to love that man," she smiled.
"So I messed it up and I fixed it, forgiven?" he asked, making big puppy eyes.
"Hmm..." she said pretending to think. "Okay,"
"I missed you today," he said quietly.
"It was only one day!" Silently she remembered when he had been unconscious for just two days, and she missed him so much she felt like crying.
"Call me romantic,"
"But you are," she smiled. "Now where's my lily?"
"That reminds me," James said as he hugged her, "You still owe me a kiss from this morning,"
"I'll make it up," she promised kissing him.
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"Lily? Lily! LILY!"
"What?" she murmured.
"Can't sleep,"
"So you thought you'd wake me up as well?" she muttered.
"Sorry," James said. He hadn't really thought of that.
"What for?"
"The whole Neria thing,"
Lily sighed. She was properly awake now and sat up to face James. "We've just been through that,"
"No. All of it. We shouldn't have dragged you in to it. You could have got expelled if someone found out, which they were bloody close to doing. The amount of crap the Marauders have done.....well we should have got kicked out years ago. But you and Mia don't deserve that,"
"James, we wanted to help. We all knew what could happen if we got found out. But we didn't so I don't see why it matters. Go back to sleep,"
"But-"
"James please!"
"I mean imagine if-"
"I don't want to imagine anything. I want to go to sleep!" she snarled.
"It was so-"
Rolling her eyes, she pulled him closer to her. She could feel that he started to talk but soon gave up and kissed her back. He never could resist her for long.
She shook her head. "Just........don't say anything,"
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"I take it you two made up last night," Ellis said.
"What makes you say that?" Lily yawned.
"One-the bags under your eyes; two-James's hair was even more ruffled then usual this morning; three-the way you've been grinning inanely all day; and four- the lily tucked into your bag, that you think no one can see,"
"You know you're a bit creepy sometimes," she replied narrowing her eyes.
"Anyway, you're going to need all the fun you can get soon,"
"Why?"
"NEWT week next week,"
"Oh you're joking!" Lily groaned, "That's like three days!"
"Lily Evans forgetting to revise? Never! Its all the teachers have talked about this year,"
"I've had other things on my mind," she protested.
"Haven't we all," Ellis replied, watching a seventh year Ravenclaw as he walked past them. Lily followed her friend's gaze and sighed.
"Like I said, we're going to need all the fun we can get," she reasoned.
"So who is he this time?" Lily asked.
"Josh Pierce, Slytherin,"
"Slytherin?!" She asked in disgust.
"You obviously don't know him," she smirked.
"That good?"
"Oh ........yeah,"
"Slapper," she chuckled.
"Oh Lily," Ellis sighed, her eyes now following a Slytherin, "You have no idea,"
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"Next week could well be the most important week in your magical career," Professor McGonagall started.
An hour later and the group found themselves in charms.
"The rest of your lives could depend on how you perform next week," the teacher started. Lily resisted the temptation to roll her eyes and look to see what James was writing.
a a e s
"You're playing hangman?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes why?"
"You don't think you might need to listen?" she hissed.
"Er......why?" Sirius replied, trying to work out what the word he was supposed to be guessing was. "We've already heard this speech four times today. In about five seconds he's going to say about how it could affect our future careers," They looked up expectantly, waiting to see if his prediction was correct.
"All though they may not seem important, these exams will affect your future career choices," the teacher continued.
"I hate to say he told you so," James smirked while adding a leg onto the little man he was drawing, "Two guesses left Black,"
"R," said Lily.
"Who said you could play?" Sirius asked, sounding just like a child in the playground.
"Fine," she replied coolly, "It's Marauders," she added. "I thought you were supposed to be smart? You can't even get the name of your own little gang?"
"I thought you were supposed to be listening?" Sirius hissed back. Lily scowled in reply and turned back to the professor's speech. "Do something else," he whispered back to James. Looking around, James finally found something he knew Sirius would get.
"A," Sirius guessed. "Ok...........O.......I,"
o a i o
"Montalio. Next!"
"Watch this," James said to Lily and drew nine lines on the scrap of parchment.
Sirius began guessing random letters until he ended up with two guesses left.
P e t t r e
"I can't believe you don't know what this is,"
"Marauders!"
"Does it look like bloody Marauders?" James asked despairing at his best friend.
"Padfoot,"
"Does it look like bloody Padfoot either?"
"What's Padfoot supposed to mean?" Lily asked. Glaring at Sirius, James told her that it was nothing.
"No....it's just....random word....you know," Sirius stuttered. Lily smiled at them both.
"You don't have to tell me, I just wondered that's all. It's Pettigrew by the way,"
Sirius scowled at her.
Hangman defiantly wasn't his favourite game.
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Ellis was beginning to regret telling Lily about the NEWTs. Not content with just revising for herself she was now trying to organise the rest of the group as well.
"Where do you think you're going?"
As James and Sirius were both in their Quidditch robes and carrying their brooms they thought it was quite obvious where they were going.
"Quidditch finished months ago!"
They stared at her.
"So..........?"
"We've got very important exams in three days time, did that not occur to you?" she asked them.
"Yes, Professor!" Sirius said and exchanged a grin with James. "But all work and no play....."
"Bores Jack to death," James finished. "We are going to practise Quidditch,"
"Practise for what?" Mia asked.
"If you must know, me and Sirius were planning on playing in the next world cup," said James trying desperately to keep a straight face.
"So we need to practise. See you later and have fun revising!" Sirius said accompanying it with a sarcastic grin.
Lily looked murderous for a while after they left.........until Remus asked her to test him on chapter 7 of Advanced Transfiguration. She stayed there for hours; she was beginning to think that James had a point with his 'play now work later' thing. She was still there when Ellis crept back around one in the morning.
"Morning,"
Evidently Ellis hadn't noticed she was there; she jumped a foot in the air and let out a small shriek.
"Jesus Evans! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"
"How's Josh?"
"What makes you think that?"
"One-Your hair's all ruffled; two-your shirts inside out; three-I know you too well; and four-you look absolutely knackered,"
"Don't be such a smart arse," Elle snapped.
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The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of books, tests and quills. James had even given in and picked up a book, though it was more to prevent another argument then to actually work. Remus noticed with a grin that James's eyes didn't move when he said he was reading and that the parchment he was supposed to be making notes on was covered in doodles of snitches, Ls, Js and stick animals.
Even Sirius had been spotted with a book. When the rumour got round that Sirius Black was studying the library became filled with what seemed like every girl in fourth year and above, hoping to bump into him. Lily didn't have the heart to tell them that Sirius didn't have a clue where the library was and that he hadn't been reading, just flicking through Advanced Divination. A class he'd never taken. Nevertheless he'd amused himself for a while, by stealing some scarves from the girls' dormitories and pretending to be a fortuneteller.
Isabelle was destined to meet a tall and very handsome man ("Is his name Sirius by any chance?") whereas Lily would 'be stuck with a skinny little runt with a big nose and glasses'.
"Poor James!" Lily said, sitting on his lap and putting her arms around him. "Anyway his nose isn't that big," she said to Sirius.
"Oh thanks!" said James looking sour. He tried to stand up and push her off.
"Come on I was joking! You're not exactly little anymore, you're taller than me,"
"That just because you're short arse," he said.
"And you're nose isn't big at all," Lily said trying to repair the damage she had done. "In fact Sirius is completely wrong. You're tall and strapping with a small nose and very..........unruntish,"
"Well...you tried I suppose," he shrugged.
"I'll make it up,"
"Really?" he smirked remembering the last time she'd said that.
"Ugh, that's revolting!" Ellis remarked. "While those are busy getting off in the corner, tell me my fortune,"
Sirius informed her that she would live happily ever after with a man who was quite small and round and who looked remarkably like Peter, earning him a smack around the head.
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The next day dawned bright and early and James, Lily, Isabelle and Sirius had the joy of a potions exam to look forward to.
"Good luck," James murmured.
"Potter, Evans! No hormones in the corridors, ten points from Gryffindor," the potions teacher snapped as he strode past.
"But Professor-"
"Another five points. Feel free to continue to argue Potter,"
James made a face, and they managed a quick kiss while the teacher's back was turned.
The Hall was laid out exactly as it had been for their OWLs only with fewer seats, as there were far fewer students that had taken each subject than before.
The four of them were separated and placed at random seats. Lily found herself a few seats behind James, while Isabelle and Sirius were placed at different ends of the hall.
"You have one hour," the examiner told them, "And you may begin,"
The exam was reasonably challenging but not impossible and they worked steadily through it- that is until Lily got to question 14. By the looks of it James reached the question at the same time, she could see his shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh. Smiling slightly she began to write.
14) Name the ingredients and describe the effects of the Polyjuice Potion.
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I forgot to say that there won't be another chap for a while because im going away for a bit, so i want reviews when i get back!
Leo x